Friday, December 26, 2014

So, here we are in late December nearing the end of 2014 with two game projects complete and more on the way for 2015. This year has been a journey of discovery with challenges thrown in for good measure, both inside and outside the gamedev stable. Apart from this, there has also enjoyable and fun stuff too, just to even things out.

Next year I have two more gamedev projects in mind, the continuation of Barriers which I hope to mould into a three part mini-game with progressive difficulty. The second project will be Surreal Office Duties Challenge Assault, a two level play area where you will shoot it out with other characters and collect items on the way. I predict that Barriers will be completed in a few months and Assault taking a bit longer, perhaps a year ?

Super Bump ::
If you weren't already aware, Super Bump is now available on Android and PC. In the end, this turned out to be quite a fun project where I learnt a lot over a short period of time. Even though it was revamped version of Bump, it deserved the enhancements. I am thinking of putting in a global high score table. Hopefully, this will be achievable !

Bugsy Reloaded ::

After reworking the menu system and some more bug fixing, I finally finished Bugsy Reloaded. At the moment, it is only currently available publicly on Android, but there is a PC version. However, I have yet to add a document / instructions file. The document / instructions idea might roll out for previous games as well on PC, in PDF form. That way you can have pictures and photos in one place.

If you download the PC version, you will find that there are currently no instructions. Until that time and for now, here are just the controls :

For the Menu - Use Mouse to Control with Left Mouse Button to action Menu Buttons

During Game - Cursors Left and Right to Move and Z to Jump

Additional Controls - P to Pause, Backspace or Esc to Quit Game

Alt-Enter - Toggles between Full Screen or Window Mode

Remember, above instructions for the controls will be documented better and maybe subject to change. But for the moment, enjoy the game as it is ! :)

Games Played in December ::

Over the last few months I have played very little console based games, which is a bit of a shame really. Even if I played on a mobile device, like my Phone or Tablet that would count for something. Most nights after work, I am too tired, which only leaves the weekend. Perhaps for next year I should spare some more time to play games and relax even more.

PS Vita ::

A bit of a return to an existing title from a year ago, Silly Putty. This appeared as a *FREE* download, which is probably because I bought it on the PS4 and it is now available as a cross platform purchase. I played the first level again and never lost the skills from all those months ago, not a bad game really and well worth the purchase and play. Loving those cartoon graphics, great music and sound effects !

Festive Time of Year ::

It is Boxing Day here now in the U.K the day after Christmas Day, which has been really good. This year I bought two themed Lego sets, Ghostbusters and Back to the Future. Both took less than two hours to build, but there was some preparation time before and after.

Ghostbusters ::

This was such a fun build to complete and I particularly like the display for the four main Ghostbusters characters. Pity there wasn't an addition character like Slimer in there too ...

Back to the Future ::

Built in less than 88 minutes, this was slightly more simple to construct. I liked the additional Skateboard for Marty, even though it looks a bit off scale. Both sets didn't have any Stickers, which years ago you would have expected. Now, the Lego bricks are screen printed with the appropriate design. This makes it more convenient about not having to use Stickers and then worry about using them !

Looking Ahead ::

For next year, I hope to work through the two mentioned gamedev projects, Barriers and Surreal Office Duties Challenge Assault. Plus, play more games and bring other retro related things for everyone to read about. I was given a Commodore 64 Joystick ( C64 DTV ) by a good friend of mine, Munir a few days ago. I did originally own one of these back in 2004/5 from Argos in the U.K., but donated it to Retro Computer Museum a couple of year ago. But now, I have one again !